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INSURANCE CASE STUDY

Fraud Investigation: Turning Up the Heat
This quick-serve restaurant was tired of getting burned by missing deposits.
What We Did: Employee Theft – Claim Investigation
Business Industry or Area: Food & Beverage – Major Fast Food Chain

Summary

Ampcus Forensics was retained to investigate suspected missing deposits within
a client’s cash-handling operations. The investigation focused on reconstructing
the normal deposit process, identifying the scope and timeline of the purported
theft, and identifying whether funds could be recovered.

Goals

  • Establish the client’s pre-loss operational and financial routines.

  • Identify and analyze discrepancies in the deposit process during the suspected theft period.

  • Confirm missing deposits and quantify total verified loss.

  • Confirm potential responsible individuals and actions.

  • Evaluate service provider protocol adherence.

  • Assess if the scheme was isolated or ongoing.

  • Explore potential recovery options.

  • Deliver findings in a timely and organized manner.

Strategic Impact


Asset Collection

  • Collected and analyzed bank statements, armored truck service logs, and internal deposit tracking reports.


Timeline

  • Mapped the standard deposit lifecycle and identified anomalies.


Analysis

  • Compared normal and theft-period activity using a combination of transaction pattern analysis and lag-time tracking.
  • Reviewed communication logs and override actions from management.


Observations

  • Quantified confirmed missing deposits, which represented 95% of the reported losses.
  • Identified that the theft appeared to have been ongoing, with a notable acceleration leading to the initial identification of the theft.
  • Identified process weaknesses, such as extended lag times and unlogged bypasses, which created vulnerabilities.


Reporting

  • Recommended corrective actions were outlined post-investigation.